Making a kink impeding hose

ABSTRACT

This invention pertains to a method for attaching a coupling to a hose. The method includes providing a hose having longitudinal ribs on is inner circumference, associating a coupling with an end of the hose, and joining the coupling to the hose by performing a deformation operation, wherein the ribs have size, number and hardness limited to what the hose wall thickness and softness can absorb such that no leakage occurs after the deformation operation.

This application is a continuation of application Ser. No. 07/742,455filed Aug. 5, 1991 and now abandoned, which is a continuation ofapplication Ser. No. 07/610,338 filed Nov. 5, 1990 and now abandoned,which is a continuation of application Ser. No. 07/542,790 filed Jun.25, 1990 and now abandoned, which is a continuation of application Ser.No. 277,881 filed Nov. 30, 1989, now abandoned, which is a divisional ofapplication Ser. No. 07/228,993 filed Aug. 5, 1988 and now U.S. Pat. No.4,867,485.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

I. Field of Invention

This invention is directed toward the field of hoses, more particularlyhoses with coupling connectors at each end carrying pressurized fluids,and most particularly, to a novel garden hose having longitudinallyextending internal ribs.

II. Discussion of the Prior Art

Flexible hose has been manufactured for many years, first out of naturalrubber and more recently out of petrochemical derivatives such assynthetic rubber, thermo plastic rubbers or plastics. It has been knownall along that kink resistance is related to diameter, wall thicknessand the material's flexibility.

Kink resistance is inversely Proportional to diameter. The smaller thediameter the greater the flexibility, so the hose will readily bend, andnot kink. It is directly related to wall thickness--a heavier wall willresist kinking. Most importantly, it is directly related to theflexibility (elongation) of the material. More flexible materials willbend rather than kink.

Burst strength is also directly related to diameter, wall thickness,flexibility, or, in this case, more correctly the tensile strength ofthe hose construction.

"Kinking" occurs when the hose is doubled over or twisted. Withreference to a kinked hose 2 shown by FIGS. 2 and 13, that side whichforms the inside surface 104 of the kink resists compression while thatside forming the exterior surface 102 of the kink resists elongation. Asa result, the walls of the hose more readily fold upon themselves. Aconsequence of kinking is that the fluid flow through the hose can beeither severely restricted or stopped. Kinking is a nuisance, causingthe user to waste time unkinking the hose.

Hoses, such as garden hoses or fuel delivery hoses, were initially madewith thick walls to resist pressure However, this made the hose morecumbersome. Subsequently, fiber reinforcements became available. Rubberhoses were wrapped with woven tapes, another outer coating layer wasadded, and the whole assembly was vulcanized. The fiber reinforcementallowed the total wall thickness to be reduced.

Plastic hoses, derived from Petrochemicals, are typically extruded usingsoft vinyl thermoplastic. Extrusion manufacturing of hose is acontinuous process. Soft vinyl thermoplastic is defined in the art bythe degree of its hardness measured with a durometer. Typical durometermeasurements for soft vinyl plastic range from 60 to 90 as measured byASTM method D-2240.

By the time plastic hose came along the use of tapes had been replacedby "knitting" tire cord around the inner core of the hose, followed bythe addition of an outer coating. This greatly added to burst strengthand, due to the knitting of the fiber, the hose had some flexibility.

A more modern and faster production approach is "wrapped" fiber which isspirally wound around the inner core. Knitted reinforcement allows moreelongation because of the inherent ability of the fibers to move andrearrange themselves. Spiral wound hose has straight lines of rigidfiber which restrict elongation thereby enhancing the tendency of thathose to kink.

Extreme kinking occurs when a new coiled garden hose is first used. Oneend is fastened to the faucet and the user walks with the other end awayfrom the faucet without allowing the coiled hose to untwist. Kinkingalso occurs due to the routine movements of the user.

Rising prices and the scarcity of petrochemical raw materials has madethe manufacture of thick walled hose uneconomical. Consequently hosesare being made with thinner walls, resulting in an increased tendency tokink.

When a thin wall modern hose does kink, water flow is shut off and theuser must attempt to unkink it through manual manipulation such asswinging the hose to relax the kink or to walk back to the kink andmanually straighten it. Some kinks require the user to walk all the wayback to the faucet, shut off the flow thereby releasing the pressure,and unkink the hose. The user is further inconvenienced because he orshe must walk back, turn on the water and then proceed to the far end tospray. An even more cumbersome problem arises when the user has alreadyattached a large sprinkler device, such as an oscillating sprinkler tothe end, and is forced to untwist the hose with this device attached.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

It is an object of the present invention to provide hose having aplurality of longitudinally extending internal ribs.

Another object of the present invention is to provide hose withconnecting couplings at each end, the hose having a plurality oflongitudinally extending internal ribs.

Another object of the present invention is to prevent partial orcomplete occlusion of a hose by means of the longitudinally extendingribs.

Another object of the invention is to provide a ready means of swift andeffective attachment of the connector couplings to the ends of such hoseduring manufacture in spite of the presence of the internal ribs.

Conventional hoses have smooth inner walls. In contrast, hoses madeaccording to the present invention have internal longitudinal ribs. Theinternal ribs add wall thickness to portions of an inside wall of thehose to reduce kinking. Kinking or compression can stop flow in aconventional hose. For example, if a hose connected to the water supplyis running with an open sprinkler at the other end, there is no pressurein the hose. If one steps on a non-pressurized conventional hose it willflatten, thereby stopping the flow. The ribs of the present hose preventtotal occlusion of the hose at the site of kinking or compressionwithout substantial loss in overall flow.

The present invention is a hose having longitudinal ribs attached to aninside wall of the hose. The hose may be a garden hose or a hose ofdifferent diameter. Typically the garden hose inside diameter rangesfrom 0.5 to 0.75 inches. The rib cross-section may be of many shapes.Typical shapes are trapezoidal (including square and rectangular) ortriangular or rounded. Typically the ribs extend about 0.05 inches toabout 0.10 inches from the hose inside wall. Preferably the ribs extendthe length of the hose including through the coupling. This ispreferable because when making hose by an extrusion process the ribsextend the length of the hose. Furthermore, the number of ribspreferably ranges from 5 to 11, most preferably 7. There is a strongpreference for an odd number of ribs. An even number will kinksymmetrically and the ribs will then fold so that they fall next to eachother. An odd number will produce a random effect.

One advantage of the present invention is that an unexpectedly largevolume of water passes through the hose, when the hose is kinked.

Another advantage of the present invention is that the hose tends tomore readily unkink when pressurized by the termination of flow at thedistal end, i.e., by closing an outflow nozzle.

Another advantage of the present invention is the near total resistanceof the ribbed thin walled hose to kinking while pressurized.

Hoses have connectors at each end for attaching the hose to a fluid(i.e. water) supply and to an optional device (sprinkler, etc.) whichthe hose supplies with fluid. The connectors also serve to link one hoseend to another hose end. It was completely unexpected that theconnectors could be attached to the ends of the hose over ribbed hoseportions without leaking. This unexpected result is very beneficialbecause it results in the further advantage that not only can a kinkresistant hose be easily made with connector couplings, but also thatthe ribs can be continuous from one end of the hose to the other.

It is advantageous to have continuous ribs from one end of the hose tothe other because the inventor found this to be the most convenient wayto put ribs into hoses made by an extrusion process. However, the issuebecame whether the hose ends required reaming out of the ribs prior toattaching connectors to each hose end to provide a functional seal.After making the initial discovery that the ribs prevented flow stoppagedue to kinking or compression, the inventor expected to have to ream theends of the hose so that connectors could be attached (by crimping)which would not leak. Thus he was surprised that reaming was unnecessaryunder certain circumstances. Accordingly, the present invention may havereamed or unreamed ends.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 discloses a cross-sectional view of a smooth walled hose of theprior art perpendicular to the hose longitudinal axis;

FIG. 2A discloses a second view of the hose of FIG. 1;

FIG. 2B discloses a schematic view of the hose of FIG. 2A;

FIG. 3 discloses a cross-sectional view of a first embodiment of thehose of the present invention perpendicular to the hose longitudinalaxis;

FIG. 4A discloses a second view of the hose of FIG. 3;

FIG. 4B discloses a schematic view of the hose of FIG. 4A;

FIG. 5 discloses a longitudinal cross-sectional view of the hose of FIG.3;

FIG. 6 discloses an enlarged view of a portion of FIG. 4;

FIG. 7 discloses a cross-sectional view of a second embodiment of thehose of the present invention perpendicular to the hose longitudinalaxis;

FIG. 8 discloses an enlarged view of a portion of FIG. 7;

FIG. 9 discloses a cross-sectional view of the present invention with aconnecting coupling prior to crimping;

FIG. 10 discloses the apparatus of attaching the connecting coupling tothe hose end;

FIG. 11 discloses a third embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 12 disclose a fourth embodiment of the present invention; and

FIG. 13 discloses a perspective view of the hose of FIG. 2B.

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

Referring to FIG. 1, a conventional smooth bore hose 2 has an outsidewall 6 and an inside wall 4. Flow can be stopped by kinking orcompressing the hose 2. Typical compressing occurs when someone steps onthe hose 2 or it is run over by a car (golf cart, tractor) or piece ofgardening equipment. FIG. 2A shows a cross-sectional view of theconventional hose 2 when it is kinked. FIG. 2B shows a schematic view ofthe kinked hose 2. As FIGS. 2A and 2B show, the flowpath for fluidthrough the hose is blocked by the kink.

FIG. 3 shows a hose 10 made according to the present invention. Hose 10has an outside wall 14 and an inside wall 12 and includes a plurality oflongitudinally displaced ribs 20 either attached to or extruded as partof the hose 10. Hose 10 has an inside diameter A ranging from 0.5 inchesto 3.0 inches, preferably ranging from 0.5 inches to 0.75 inches. Hose10 has an outside diameter B which ranges from 0.6 inches to 3.5 inches,preferably from 0.6 inches to 1.25 inches. The hose has a wall thicknessfrom about 0.04 inches to about 0.15 inches, preferably a thicknessbetween about 0.04 inches and about 0.135 inches excluding ribdimensions. FIGS. 4A and 4B depicts hose 10 when kinked. FIG. 4A showsribs 20 contacting the opposing inside wall 12. FIG. 4B is a schematicwhich omits showing the ribs 20 to simplify the Figure. Preferably theribs 20 are continuous along the length of the hose 10 because whenhoses are made by extrusion, the ribs are formed as part of the interiorwall.

Because the purpose of the ribs is to prevent the internal walls fromtouching each other, thereby providing channels for water flow, theirsize is important, but so is their number. The size of the ribs isrestricted by the subsequent crimping procedure used to attach aconnecting coupler 52 (FIGS. 9 & 10) to an end of the hose 10. Thus, onemust be cognizant of their number. For a typical 0.625 inches (innerdiameter) hose, which has a flat internal slit 0.981 inches wide whencompressed or kinked, 5 to 11 ribs are preferred and 7 ribs are the mostpreferred number if they are of the below-described size. An even numberwill crimp symmetrically, and the ribs will then fold so that they fallnext to each other. An odd number will produce a random effect.

FIG. 5 shows a cross-sectional view of hose 10 having the ribs 20 viewedalong a longitudinal axis 18 of the hose 10.

FIG. 6 shows rib 20 having a trapezoidal shape formed by top wall 24,base 26 and side wall 22. Rib 20 has a base width E ranging from 0.04inches to 0.125 inches, a top wall width D ranging from 0.0 inches (aswhen a trapeziod becomes a triangle as depicted in FIG. 8) to 0.125inches, and a rib height C ranging from 0.05 inches to 0.10 inches.

FIG. 7 shows a second embodiment of the present invention which differsfrom the first embodiment depicted in FIGS. 3-6 in that the longitudinalribs have a triangular cross-section. FIG. 7 shows a hose 30 having anoutside wall 34, an inside wall 32 and longitudinally displaced ribs 40having a triangular cross-section. Other cross-sectional shapes such asa rounded shape or square shape could be employed.

FIG. 8 shows rib 40 formed by a base 44 and sidewalls 42. Rib 40 has abase width G ranging from 0.04 to 0.125 inches and a rib height Franging from 0.05 to 0.10 inches.

FIG. 9 shows hose 10 with an external ferrule 50 and a standard maleconnector 52 inserted into the hose 10 having ribs 20. Other ribs arenot shown for simplicity. Hoses typically have an inlet end and anoutlet end. The inlet end is provided with a female connector such as aconnector 82 (FIG. 12). The outlet end is provided with the maleconnector 52.

FIG. 10 depicts the crimping procedure used to securely fastenconnecting couplings to hose 10. A hardened steel collet 54 is insertedin connector 52, a tapered shaft 56 is driven forward deforming someportion of male connector 52 inside hose 10 in a corrugated pattern andcreating a leak proof seal by wed hose 10 between deformed connector 52and opposingly corrugated ferrule 50. The crimping is done in acorrugated fashion, i.e.,there are areas of greater and lessercompression, thus allowing a better seal of hose material. FIG. 10 alsoshows that rib 20 is squeezed into the main body of the hose whereopposing corrugations exert maximum force. (Other ribs are not shown forsimplicity.) Therefore a tight seal is obtained. A female connector 84(of FIG. 12) is attached in the same way as the male connector 52.

FIG. 11 discloses a hose 60 having a male connector coupling 62 and acorrugated ferrule 64, hose 60 has an inner layer (core) 66, spiralwrapped filaments (filament reinforcement) 68 and an outer layer (cover)70, with longitudinally displaced ribs 72 along the inside.

FIG. 12 discloses a hose 80 having a female connector coupling 82 and acorrugated ferrule 84, hose 80 has inner layer (core) 86, knittedfilaments (filament reinforcement) 88 and an outer layer (cover) 90,with longitudinally displaced ribs 92 along the inside.

In a typical 3-ply hose 60, 80 (core 66, 86, filament reinforcement 68,88, cover 70, 90 are shown by FIGS. 11 and 12, respectively) the ribs72, 92 are triangularly shaped, between 0.050-0.060 inches high by0.040-0.050 inches wide at the base The total material thickness (allthree layers excluding ribs) is at least 0.080 inches thick and thematerial stiffness does not exceed 90 durometer. Under thesecircumstances there is enough soft material backing for the ribs to besqueezed away during crimping.

In addition to the hoses shown in FIGS. 11 and 12 other hoses can haveinner cores (inner walls) of up to three plys (thin solid inner wall,foamed center, thin outer skin). Outer covers (outer wall) may have thesame type of 3-ply construction.

FIG. 13 illustrates a kinked prior art hose 2 having a surface 102outside the kink and a surface 104 forming the inside of the kink.

A hose made according to the present invention is useful for deliveringfluids under pressure such as ordinary household water (garden) hoses orfuel delivery hoses. The typical water hose has an outside diameter ofabout 0.875 inches with an interior diameter of 0.625 inches.Preferably, this hose has longitudinally disposed ribs which areintegrally formed on the interior surface of the hose by well knownextrusion techniques.

The advantages which flow from the invention include that a hose withsuch longitudinal ribs resists kinking and, even when kinked, allows aneffective amount of water to pass through the kinked section. While theribs are not large, and even though the kinked hose's internal passagemay be almost completely occluded, the flow of fluid through thatpassage is usually sufficient to allow the user to continue using thehose without attempting to straighten it. This is due to the acceleratedflow of water under pressure from one end through the still openpassages. Thus substantial flow through a kinked section of hose withthese novel ribs is possible, while flow through a kinked section in aconventional, smooth-walled hose is not.

Another aspect of the invention is that the flow through a narrowedpassage may actually straighten the hose if a nozzle or other deviceprovides sufficient back pressure to the kinked section. For example,during watering use of a conventional hose the exit end is open andthere is reduced pressure in the hose. When the hose is kinked and fullyshut off, full pressure develops up to the kink but never beyond. Thehose of the present invention, in contrast, permits flow through akinked hose so there is pressure on both sides of the kink. Thus underfull pressure, as when the nozzle, etc. at the hose discharge end isturned off, the hose is fully blown and forced round.

The hose unkinks due to the development of high pressure on each side ofthe Partial occlusion. Water is usually supplied to a home at pressuresranging from 50 to 120 pounds per square inch (psi). When the exit flowin a 0.625 inch (inner diameter) hose is stopped, for example by aclosed spray nozzle, an equal force distributed over 2 inches on bothsides of the kink, assuming a pressure of 70 psi, will be on the orderof 275 pounds. This force will "round out" the hose causing it tounkink. In contrast, a smooth wall prior art hose will not develop equalpressure on each side of the kink. Thus, water cannot flow past the kinkand back pressure down stream from the kink does not develop.

In addition, a hose with such ribs that has been pressurized (i.e., hasan open faucet and a closed nozzle), is nearly, if not totally,impossible to kink. In contrast, a pressurized hose lacking such ribscan still kink.

Finally, an unexpected advantage of the invention is the absence ofleakage at the end fittings (coupling connectors). Under propercircumstances the presence of the interior ribs can be made as to notinterfere with sealing of the fittings. Thus the hose can haveconnectors attached to the ends of the hose with or without reaming thehose ends to remove the ribs at the hose ends.

The present inventor achieved this very surprising result after tryingcomponents and crimping conditions while, frankly, believing it wouldnever work. The inventor was prepared to ream out the ribs at the endsof the hose so that standard industry parts and practices could be used.

The hose wall typically is 0.100 inches thick; addition of the ribs adds0.05 to 0.100 inches. Therefore standard ferrules could not be used.

Preferably the ferrules have the following dimensions: the overallthickness of the ferrule is 0.02 inches; for use in a 0.625 inch innerdiameter hose the ferrule placed inside the hose has an outer diameterof 0.625 inches; the annular ferrule placed on the outside of the hoseend has a diameter of 0.825 inches.

When attaching the couplers, the wall hardness of the still warm hosemust be within the range 50 to 75 measured by the durometer. Thecrimping machine must be adapted to expand the ferrule much more thannormal and to squash away the rib. The crimping machine must expand theinner ferrule with the hardened steel collet as depicted in FIG. 10.

The steel collet on insertion has a diameter of 0.535 inches. With theribbed hose it must be expanded to at least 0.80 inches in order tocreate an effective seal. Preferably it is expanded to 0.80 inches.Using the crimping machine on a normal hose, it need only be expanded to0.725 inches. Preferably this crimping Procedure is carried out whilethe hose is warm and soft as when the hose has been extruded but notallowed to cool to room temperature during its manufacture. Typically,immediately after manufacture the hose is about 110° F.

Alternatively, a partially foamed wall will more readily absorb larger,and therefore even more effective, ribs during crimping.

Users may want to repair damaged hoses by cutting off a defective Partand attaching commercially available "hose menders" which also compressthemselves onto the hose wall. Some squash small ribs away, some do notunder normal conditions. It is recommended that the user soften the hosein boiling water before attaching the mender.

Furthermore, there are limits to what can be done. The size, number andhardness of the ribs must be limited to what the thickness and softnessof the wall can absorb under crimping conditions described.

While specific embodiments of the present invention have been shown anddescribed, it should be apparent that many modifications can be madethereto without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention.Accordingly, the invention is not limited by the foregoing description,but is only limited by the scope of the claims appended thereto.

I claim:
 1. A method for attaching a coupling to a hose, comprising thesteps of:providing one of a flexible plastic and rubber water hosehaving a wall defined by inner and outer circumferential surfaces, andcircumferentially spaced ribs integrally molded with said wall extendingfrom said inner circumferential surface and extending longitudinally tothe hose between open ends thereof; providing an annular couplingcomprising a ferrule and a connector; inserting a portion of saidconnector into said hose and placing said ferrule around said outercircumferential surface of said hose, thereby radially aligning theportion of said connector with said ferrule and said ribs, with saidribs existing between said portion and said ferrule; and deforming saidribs with circumferential corrugations of said portion by forcing saidcorrugations into said ribs, and thereby absorbing said ribs into thewall and sealing said hose against water leakage from between saidconnector and said wall; wherein said providing a hose step includesproviding a hose having ribs of a size, number and hardness all limitedto what the hose wall thickness and softness can absorb for sealingagainst said leakage.
 2. The method of claim 1 wherein the hose is agarden hose.
 3. The method of claim 1 wherein said hose has a wallthickness between about 0.04 inches and about 0.15 inches, an insidediameter between about 0.5 inches and 3 inches excluding rib height, andeach of said ribs has a height between about 0.05 and about 0.10 inchesand a rib base width between about 0.04 and about 0.125 inches.
 4. Themethod of claim 1 wherein the hose is a garden hose wherein the ribsextend continuously from one end of the hose to the other, said hose hasan odd number of ribs between about 5 to about 11 and said hose has aninside diameter between about 0.5 inches and 0.75 inches excluding ribheight.
 5. The method of claim 1 including attaching said coupling tothe end of the hose while said hose is heated.
 6. A method for attachinga coupling to a hose, comprising the steps of:providing one of aflexible plastic and rubber water hose having a wall defined by innerand outer circumferential surfaces, and circumferentially spaced ribsintegrally molded with said wall extending from said innercircumferential surface and extending longitudinally to the hose betweenopen ends thereof; providing an annular coupling comprising a ferruleand a connector; inserting a portion of said connector into said hoseand placing said ferrule around said outer circumferential surface ofsaid hose, thereby radially aligning the portion of said connector withsaid ferrule and said ribs, with said ribs existing between said portionand said ferrule; and inserting a crimping tool into said portion ofsaid connector and operating said crimping tool thereby formingcircumferential corrugations into said portion and pressing thesecorrugations into said ribs and thereby absorbing said ribs into thewall and sealing said hose against water leakage from between saidconnector and said wall; wherein said providing a hose step includesproviding a hose having ribs of a size, number and hardness all limitedto what the hose wall thickness and softness can absorb for sealingagainst said leakage.